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[The Mirror]

hee hee
My Phd is in Dramatic History and Literature so there's a great deal of subject overlap with straight history. I always find myself lecturing more on history than on dramatic literature because students can't understand old plays unless they have a knowledge of their historical context. Today, for example, my lecture on Seneca's Thyestes turned into a big old tirade on the Punic Wars and how they shaped Roman national identity. History makes me breathy.
What year are you in? Whatcha gonna write on? How sick are you of those questions?

[Misstiggy]

I'm currently studying for a diploma (leading on to a degree) in Literature, with on of the fun text's being Ibsen's "A doll's house"



lol

[LeithNoweder]

I read Philosophy for Dummies once.

[BigJ1666]

I am with you leith. I have heard of Heidigger. Thats about it. Now if you need to know anything about Star Wars I am your man.

[The Mirror]

God I HATE that play. Ibsen is my hero and I love him every which way, but that play's only merit lies in the fact that it is an example of early feminism. It's an important play, but the text is frankly INSIPID. "My charming little squirrel" = puke. And who cares about the Tarentella? You wanna read some good Ibsen read Rosmersholm or The Lady from the Sea or Hedda Gabler. THOSE plays are simply CHILLING.
Truly, Ibsen is a god. A Dolls House is phenomenal because of the SOCIAL impact it had- it was astonishing for an old Norwegian fart like Ibsen to write a play championing women's rights. It's a beautiful idea, a noble social move, and a radical act of human equality. And it's an insipid little play.
That's so cool that you're studying literature! What do you want to be?


I like Heidegger's whole 'bracket reality and deal with the phenomena' thing. Don't like the whole 'national socialist Nazi bastard' thing.

[LeithNoweder]

I don't know what the heck you're talking about Heather.

And here I thought I was cultured.

[BigJ1666]

Mirror, in your diatribe about this Isben fellow, I think you spoke Swahili in ther somewhere.

[hawkspar]

Glad to see history does it for some other people too! Yeah, I suppose reading any of the "original ideas" (what I call Greek and Roman literature) would require an understanding of current events. In fact, I would love your job! I took a class all about early church history and its theatrical elements and LOVED it (although the REED records got a bit tiresome I have to say).

I am in my first year, my dissertation is comtemporary Japanese foreign aid policy (well, since WWII) and no, I do not tire of questions lol. Really, I would love to teach either the ancient world or medieval history, but its too late to go back now! Actually I am creating a course on modern world history right now, but I think my niche will be teaching surveys in ancient world history.

"Breathy"...what a great word choice!

[The Mirror]

That's because I'm one million years older than you, Leith! I'm sorry if that last post made me sound like an ass. I get all worked up about Ibsen. I wrote my dissertation on the suicides in his prose corpus.

Starwars rocks my world. Did I mention that my license plate said 'SITH'

[BigJ1666]

SITH? Wow.

[The Mirror]

the theatricality in the early European church IS a really cool topic. I spent some time in grad school working on the Greban Passion Play and was amazed at the violence inherent in the text.
I don't know ANYTHING about Japan other than the development of Kabuki in the Edo period. I'm extremely impressed with your field! That's some hard stuff!

[Misstiggy]

lol Heather, to be honest it's not my favourite on the booklist! Not with the likes of Pride and Prejudice, Frankenstein, Othello, Great Expectations etc etc



I love reading and I love the imagry it contains, especially the classics. There have been some beautiful words written in the past and it's an absolute joy to be able to analyse them, however when your current assignment contains an entire chapter on "Literary comparisons of genre and prose within Pride and Prejudice", you're willingness tends to wane a little!

I'm hoping to be able to use the diploma to help gain a visa to the States, then i'm wanting to go on and get my degree and teach (eventually). I missed out on university, so i'm now doing it all part time over a longer period.

It'll take time, but it'll be worth it to be able to start living a dream.

[hawkspar]

I could not agree more Heather. Ibsen's power there lied in what it started, but certainly NOT how it was written. I was a ball of pent up rage when I finished Doll's House lol. I haven't read much else by him, though I have read snippets of Hedda Gabler somewhere in my undergrad days.

I like Sartre's "Hell is other people" lol...

Seriously though, if it weren't for religion at the top, Kierkegaard's idea of striving to reach perfection could have been great. Still, I like it though. And of course, whether or not you agree, Thus Spake Zarathustra should be mandatory for all people to read.

[LeithNoweder]

[Idta]

Hey Heather,
when I was in drama class in college we did 2 plays which I loved;
Cat on a hot tin roof, and Bus Stop

In Cat on a hot tin roof I played big mama and Bus Stop I played Cherrie hehehe I had to put on a hickish accent for that